Where To Find Career-Wear (Part Three)

For those of you who are willing to pay more for a little more style in your workwear but don't want to take out a second mortgage, there are still a lot of options for the tweener set. Here are my favorite mid-priced sources for workwear, though of course you can find great deals on the sales racks.

Zara--The Spanish international chain is famous for bringing runway knockoffs to its stores within weeks and its sizes run up to XL, which fits 14-16. I love looking here for jackets, skirts, and blouses. Pants are a little tricky for me and armholes can be small, but do give it a try.

Banana Republic--This store used to be a lot better for those up in the 14-16 range, but XL shirts, sweaters, and jackets are still relatively easy-to-find.

Talbot's--There was a time when I wouldn't be caught dead in Talbot's. To me, it was dull WASP-wear for middle-aged ladies. But in recent years, their stuff has gotten a lot better. Size 16 misses/XL is no problem to find. If you need to go a little bigger, there's Talbot's Woman, its plus sister store.

Ann Taylor/Ann Taylor Loft--I used to swear by Ann Taylor, although in recent years I haven't liked its stuff as much. Still, I can find some very nice things for work...Ann Taylor carries up to 16, while some Lofts carry up to 18.

Anthropologie--Want to give your work wardrobe something a little different? Is your workplace boho-friendly? Anthro can be overpriced IMO but aside from finding deals in its sales racks, you can find stuff that's not terribly expensive and nice enough for casual work environments.

Store review: Zara

Christmastime 1995, I went with my mom and my brother for a long weekend in New York City. We were just across from Bloomingdale's flagship store in Manhattan when a lovely red midlength coat on display in a shop window caught my mom's eye. I took one look at the coat and figured it was going to be expensive. The store looked expensive to me. But on the floor next to the mannequin modeling the coat was a very small sign with the coat's price...$59. We went inside and an obsession was born.

The store was Zara, a Spanish chain famous for its crack team of designers who can knockoff runway looks and get them out to the public in a matter of *weeks.* Back in 1995, that Manhattan store was the only one in the U.S.. Now Zara has several stores in NYC and a smattering of outlets across the country, as well as in many other countries around the world. But in Spain, Zara is as ubiquitous as Starbucks. There, it's not unusual to find Zaras only a couple of blocks from each other and each store might have merchandise the others didn't have. Over the years, I have hit Zara stores in Madrid, Seville, resort towns like Torremolinos and Palma de Mallorica, Paris, Cancun, New York, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. The D.C. store opened about a year and a half before I moved from Northern Virginia. Unfortunately for me (and perhaps fortunately for my wallet), the closest Zara is in Costa Mesa, a little more than an hour away.

What rocks:

Great European style at decent prices. It's much more expensive than H&M but I think the quality is better and the overall collection is more grown-up. The clothes and accessories look different from what you'd find at other stores, but I think it is because Zara tends to borrow from very high end designers you don't typically find at your local Macys. Only a hardcore (to use an overused term) fashionista can pick out who Zara is knocking off with a particular piece.

You can find very basic things like t-shirts in a variety of colors, evening wear, casual wear, career wear, and funkier items aimed at juniors. Accessories are along the lines of hats, belts, sunglasses, and shoes. Lots of shoes! Some Zara stores also have men's clothes.

Whenever Zara has a sale, look out! We're talking about prices as low as $4.99 for t-shirts or $20 for skirts that originally sold for $90. But the good stuff tends to go fast.

Zara carries sizes up to XL/16 for its Woman line.

The meh:

Its junior line runs small. It seems like everything is either a small or a medium, which is a bummer if you see something you like.

The shoes used to be much cheaper; now they're kind of pricey even on sale.

Also, some of the tops and jackets can be too small around the arms or across the chest.

Order online?

Sadly, no.

Website: http://www.zara.com